Container for the thermostatic preservation of liquids

ABSTRACT

A container for the thermostatic preservation of liquids, to be used particularly for leisure, sport and for infants, including a shell ( 8 ), formed by two coupled portions ( 9, 10 ), and forming a cavity ( 11 ) for accommodating a vessel ( 12 ) which contains the liquid. The shell is made of thermally insulating and impact-resistant material. The invention fully solves the problems of conventional containers, since it achieves a thermostatic preservation of liquids whose duration can be compared to that of thermos flasks and at the same time protects the vessel against any external aggressive agents, such as dust, insects and so forth.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a container for the thermostaticpreservation of liquids, particularly but not exclusively useful inleisure, sport and with infants.

BACKGROUND ART

It is known that there are many types of vessels which allow to storeliquids in general at a constant temperature for a certain period oftime. In particular, so-called thermos flasks are very popular amongpeople who practice sports, especially in the mountains. It iswell-known that these flasks are double-walled glass or metal vesselswith an empty air space, in which a beverage such as water, coffee,white coffee, juice et cetera is placed in order to keep it hot or coldfor a rather long time. However, most currently commercially availablebeverages are contained in their own package, which can be an ordinarybottle or a can for beer or soft drinks in general, or a box-likeplastic-coated paper package for juices, dairy products such as milk,yoghurt and so forth. Clearly, in order to place these beverages inthermos flasks it is necessary to transfer the content of the package tothe thermos flask. In order to obviate this need, vessels shaped like acylindrical cup of various sizes, made of Insulating material, arecommercially available, and a can or bottle can be inserted directlytherein. Another aspect of the prior art related to this field consists,for example, in preparing warm food to be given to children or in thepreservation and transport of certain types of drugs, which often haveto be kept at temperatures below 0° C. For example, U.S. Pat. No.4,228,908 discloses an insulated baby bottle carrier.

A first drawback of the abovedescribed first type of conventionalvessels is that the packages, and correspondingly the beverage containedtherein, are only partially protected against heat exchange with theenvironment, since the end portion of the packages, on which the openingis arranged, is unprotected. In this case, it is evident that theduration of the thermostatic preservation of the beverage isconsiderably shorter than the duration obtainable with thermos flasks.

A second drawback of these containers is that they do not protect theregion that surrounds the opening against dirt and insects, especiallyafter the package has been opened.

A third drawback is that the purchaser of these containers is forced tocarry them by hand or in a bag, because they have no grip memberssuitable for carrying them comfortably.

A first drawback related to the other aspects of the prior art is that,warm foods such as milk are often poured into glass containers, forexample bottles for baby feeding, which have no thermal insulation ofany kind. Accordingly, such foods must be given immediately and it isnot possible to transport them so as to keep their temperatureunchanged. The same drawback arises in the case of drugs when they aregiven by the pharmacist to the customer. Clearly, along the route fromthe drugstore to the buyer's home, the medicines are unlikely to be keptat the same temperature conditions in which they were delivered.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

The aim of the present invention is to overcome the drawbacks notedabove in conventional insulating containers for packages of beverages,by providing a container for the thermostatic preservation of liquidswhich allows complete insulation of the vessel and, of course, of thebeverage contained therein, with respect to the outside environment,simultaneously with an effective protection of the vessel against anycontaminants such as dirt, insects and so forth.

An object of the invention is to provide a container which can extendthe thermostatic condition of the liquids contained therein for aduration which is comparable to that of thermos flasks.

Another object of the invention is to provide a container which can beadapted to the different shapes and dimensions of the severalcommercially available packages of beverages, foods, medicines, etcetera.

Another object of the invention is to provide a container which isnon-toxic, easy and handy to carry, completely washable and can berecycled rather easily to a significant extent.

This aim, these objects and others which will become apparenthereinafter are achieved by a container for the thermostaticpreservation of liquids, characterized in that it comprises a shell,formed by at least two coupled portions, which forms at least one cavityfor accommodating at least one vessel which contains the liquids.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further characteristics and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent from the following detailed description of a preferredbut not exclusive embodiment thereof, illustrated only by way ofnon-limitative example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a container for cans, according to theinvention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of another container for cans, according tothe invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a container for bottles, according tothe invention;

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the container of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of a container for packages of dairyproducts, juices and the like, according to the invention;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view, taken along an axial plane, of part of thecontainer of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view, taken along an axial plane, of the containerof FIG. 3;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view, taken along an axial plane, of a containerfor a feeding bottle;

FIG. 9 is an exploded view, similar to FIG. 4, of a container for cansprovided with a cap to be applied to the can;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the container of FIG. 9, provided witha seat for the cap to be applied to the can.

Ways of carrying out the invention.

With reference to the above figures, the container for the thermostaticpreservation of liquids is substantially composed of a shell, generallydesignated by the reference numeral 8, which is formed by at least twoportions, designated by the reference numerals 9 and 10 respectively,and forms a cavity 11 which is adapted to accommodate a vessel, i.e., acan 12 in the case of FIGS. 1, 2, 4, 9 and 10, a bottle 13 in the caseof FIGS. 3 and 7, a prism-shaped package 14 in the case of FIG. 5, and afeeding bottle 27 in the case of FIG. 8. In detail, and with referenceto FIGS. 1, 2, 4, 6, 9 and 10, the two portions 9 and 10 are cup-shapedso as to respectively accommodate the lower portion of the vessel andthe upper portion, where the tear-open opening 15 is located. Morespecifically, the portion 9 preferably accommodates most of the body ofthe can 12, so that any permanent removal of the portion 10 does notexcessively compromise the duration of the thermostatic preservation ofthe beverage. Conveniently, the insertion of the can 12 in the portion 9occurs with a certain interference, so that the user cannotunintentionally extract the can 12 from the portion 9. In this case, inorder to facilitate the extraction of the can 12 from the portion 9 oncethe beverage is finished, on the bottom of the portion 9 there isprovided a central hole 16 through which one pushes with one fingeragainst the bottom of the can 12. Moreover, the portion 9 is providedwith a tab 17 which protrudes externally and parallel to the wall of theportion 9, in order to fasten the container, for example to the belt orwaist of the trousers. In turn, the coupling between the can 12 and theportion 10 has less interference than the corresponding coupling betweenthe portion 9 and the can 12, in order to facilitate the removal of theportion 10 in order to access the opening 15 of the can 12 withoutsimultaneously compressing the portion 9. Additionally, the portion 10has an annular chamfer 18 which allows the user to identify itimmediately and at the same time makes it easier to grip. A peripheralhole 19 provided on the top of portion 10 allows to insert a straw 20 inthe container, with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10, between the top of thecan 12 and the portion 10 there is provided a hermetic cap 28 which canbe coupled to the open can, so as to prevent liquid from escaping fromit or so as to prevent, in the short term, the contents from losingtheir effervescent characteristics. When the can is closed and seatedwithin the container 8, the cap 28 can be easily accommodated in asuitable circular compartment provided with a rim and formed in the topof the portion 10, as shown in FIG. 10. With reference to FIG. 5, theportions 9 and 10 are shaped like an approximately parallelepipedal box.Preferably, the portion 9 accommodates, for the already-noted reason,most of the container 14, which can contain milk, yogurt, medicines, andso forth. With reference to FIGS. 3 and 7, the portion 9 and the portion10 respectively accommodate the cylindrical body and the neck of thebottle 13. In this case, the portion 10 is substantially shaped like atruncated cone, so as to follow the profile of the neck. The couplingbetween the portion 9 and 10 is achieved at the interface by screwing.In detail, the portion 9 is provided with an annular protrusion 21 alongthe edge of the wall of the portion 9 and with a raised portion 22 whichruns in a helical pattern along the outer surface of the protrusion 21.Accordingly, the inner edge of the wall of the protrusion 21 has anannular recess 23 and a helical recess 24 in which the annularprotrusion 21 and the raised portion 22 respectively engage. Thiscoupling can of course be provided by means of a male-femaleinterlocking coupling, or with similar methods, without therebyabandoning the scope of the invention. The container for the feedingbottle, shown in FIG. 8, is provided approximately in the same manner.In the illustrated embodiments, each one of the portions 9 and 10 isformed by two capsules, respectively designated by the referencenumerals 25 and 26, which are mutually coupled inside each other.Preferably, the outer capsule 25 is considerably thinner than the innercapsule 26. Specifically, the outer capsule 25 is made of molded orblown plastics and the inner capsule 26 is made of foamed plastics, withheat-insulating characteristics, which is formed by molding, optionallywith the addition of minute glass particles in order to increase itsinsulating power. In any case, the materials used can be recycledapproximately to 80%. The coupling between the two caps 25 and 26 isachieved by slight interference at the interface or, if this is notprovided, by interposing suitable adhesives.

In practice it has been observed that the container thus describedachieves the intended aim and objects, by providing a thermostaticpreservation of liquids whose duration can be compared to that ofthermos flasks and at the same time protecting the vessel against anyexternal aggressive agents. Moreover, the walls of the shell can beshaped in any manner and can have raised portions, patterns, et cetera,in order to give the container a particular aesthetic value. Finally,the container simultaneously has a highly advantageous impact-resistantfunction which is useful particularly for glass bottles.

The container according to the invention is susceptible of numerousmodifications and variations, within the scope of the appended claims.All the details may be replaced with other technically equivalentelements.

In practice, the materials used, as well as the dimensions and thecontingent shapes, may be any according to requirements. It isunderstood that the container may also accommodate vessels other thanthose shown, such as for example canteens, et cetera.

What is claimed is:
 1. A container for the thermostatic preservation ofliquids, comprising a shell formed by at least two coupled portions,said shell defining a cavity for accommodating at least one vessel whichcontains said liquids, wherein one of said portions is provided with alateral protrusion which protrudes parallel to a wall of said one ofsaid portions, and wherein another one of said portions is provided witha hermetic cap which can be coupled to a top of said vessel to closesaid vessel and can be accommodated, when the vessel is closed, in aseat which is provided with a rim and is formed on a top of said one ofsaid portions.
 2. The container according to claim 1, wherein one ofsaid portions is provided with an annular chamfer which is adapted toidentify it.
 3. The container according to claim 1, wherein at least oneof said portions is frustum-shaped so as to match the shape of thevessel.
 4. The container according to claim 1, wherein the coupling ofsaid portions to one another is achieved by mutually screwing saidportions.
 5. The container according to claim 1, wherein said portionshave mutually facing edges, at least one of said edges being providedwith an annular protrusion which is in turn provided with a helicalraised portion which is formed externally, and the other one of saidedges being provided with an annular recess and with a helical recessfor engaging said annular protrusion and said helical raised portion. 6.The container according to claim 1, wherein each of said portionscomprises two capsules which are mutually coupled, one inside the other,so as to form an outer capsule and an inner capsule, said outer capsulebeing thinner than said inner capsule.
 7. The container according toclaim 6, wherein said inner capsule has thermal insulationcharacteristics.
 8. The container according to claim 6, wherein saidouter capsule and said inner capsule are coupled with slightinterference at the interface.